Last week saw students once again march into London to protest against the outrageous University tuition fees; once again the protests fell on deaf ears. Almost two years on, a study from UCAS has shown the applications in University courses have plummeted by almost 8%. More and more people are not going to University because:
A- They cannot simply afford it
and
B- Online education offers a cheaper convenient service for students.
Learning online has really taken over in the past couple of years, more students are logging in to learn from the comfort of their own home without having the added pressures of being in £ 30,000 worth of debt. Many students will miss out on education simply because of financial issues, education should never be only available to the richest of us.
If people want to learn then they should have the right. Obviously the government views are questioned, taking away EMA from college students and raising the tuition fees to £ 9,000 a year, fewer students are attracted to the university route. Luckily online education can provide the student with the same basis of learning with the added bonus of not having to worry about being in £ 30,000 worth of debt at the end of it. Now that is a daunting thought for any prospective student. Online education is the future, it is current, it is cool and as mentioned above it is cheap (er).
Learning in a classroom can cause stress, students at school / university / college are always under pressure or under some form of deadline. Online education offers a different alternative, not only can you work at your own pace, you can speak to your friendly tutor whenever you want, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The constant access is a beneficial part to any students learning curve, unlike in university where you find yourself chasing lecturers all the time for information about an assignment, online you can just simply log in and speak to your lecturer anytime.
The online learning phenomenon is national and growing by the day. YouTube, usually seen as a fountain of lowbrow media and a gathering point for insensitive internet "trolls," has become a source for education, with lectures placed on the website, added with information videos about any subject of your choice. Schools are awakening to the benefits of "flipping the classroom," which uses textbooks and providing students with something they are more familiar with. The internet.